A Little Bit of Everything

As you can see I've only gotten minimally further on the frog and poor Kurt remains on my wall with "wax bloom" doing interesting things to his face.  I'm hoping to start his again next week if I can find a large enough block of time when a minimum number of eyes are vying for my attention.

On the "Squirrel Temperature Scale" today it was a flat out on the fence day.  The only thing that saved it from being a legs dangling over the side (one level above dead on the ground.) was that the humidity wasn't quite as bad as usual. 

In Ontario so far this year we've been running generally in the 80 - 100s F.  So if you decide to visit, don't bring your skis unless they've got a boat to attach to.  In fact even in the territories (the upper most parts of the country) they've been hitting in the 80s F some days.

Does anyone know what these flowers are?  I found them on an island in an area that would normally swampy if the island actually still had water around it.  They seem to be doing well.  I'm not sure if they normally grow if the water is higher.  This year the water is lower than I've ever seen it, thus making the island no longer an island but just land.  I'd love to grow these in my garden but I suspect they wouldn't like it here.  They also, besides having vibrant deep red flowers, have a hollow, reed like stem and are about 2' to 3' tall.  The type of stem they have makes me think they might prefer damper areas.

A couple of weeks ago they sent out warnings about another flowering plant called a "giant hogweed" that has it's origins in Asia but has thoughtfully been brought over by someone and  is now spreading through our region as well as the rest of the country.  It's sap causes extreme blistering which can leave some nasty scars and also can cause blindness if gotten in the eyes.  They're trying to eradicate it before it really gets going.  When I picked the flowers pictured above, which aren't giant hogweed btw, One of Four almost refused to drive home in the same car with the flowers despite the fact that they weren't a known toxin.  When I described them to others they warned me about their potential deadliness being an unknown entity and all.  Sigh.  Well, it's been over 24hrs and I've NOT broken out in a rash, dropped dead or turned into a disfigured monster of any sort.  (Well, because of said plant anyways.)  As for the giant hogweed, it is probably a good idea to get rid of it but honestly, if you know what it is and deal with it properly you'll be okay.  There's poison ivy everywhere here that can have the same effect and I don't see people running screaming from parks.  Perspective.

pls note: although I've used imperial measure for temperatures, and legnths, the "Squirrel Temperature Scale" is metric.